Photo Essay
CAROLINA BEACH — The Cape Fear region welcomed the season’s first big storm last night after Hurricane Isaias made landfall at Ocean Isle at 11:10 p.m., dousing the area with heavy rains and sustained winds of 85 mph.
Read MoreWILMINGTON — County and city law enforcement officers responded to what appeared to be an initially nonviolent but also disobedient and profanity-laced protest outside City Hall with tear gas and stun grenades, dispersing the protestors throughout the streets of downtown Wilmington Sunday night. Officials defended the use of force, saying there were concerns about armed protestors and damage to the downtown area.
Read MoreWILMINGTON — “That was something not many people get a chance to see.” Mark Winneberger was one of the first people to dive down to North Carolina’s newest artificial reef — a retired Coast Guard cutter, rechristened The Brian Davis, sunk 21 miles off the coast of Wrightsville Beach on Friday.
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Protestors finish the rally with nine minutes of silence in honor of George Floyd, who died after a Minneapolis Police officer held his knee on Floyd’s neck for nearly nine minutes. (Port City Daily photo/Mark Darrough)
WILMINGTON — Hundreds gathered for a sixth night of protest on the front steps of City Hall Friday evening, honoring the names of George Floyd and others — including former Wilmington resident Brandon Smith — killed by law enforcement officers. They also called for criminal justice reform and the lifting of the 9 p.m. curfew imposed earlier this week.
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Tugboats push the bow of the 357-meter MV Hyundai Hope cargo ship back downriver before it docked at the Port of Wilmington Wednesday evening. (Port City Daily photo/Mark Darrough)
WILMINGTON — The 1,200-foot MV Hyundai Hope crept up the Cape Fear River on Wednesday evening through thick sheets of rain before tugboats pushed the container ship back downriver, guiding it to dock beneath four lit-up cranes at the Port of Wilmington.
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Raymond Brooks of Bladen County makes his first appearance at the Pender County Superior Court as Sheriff Alan Cutler, right, points to where he will stand before Judge Lindsey McKee. (Port City Daily photo/Mark Darrough)
BURGAW — After two suspects — a brother and sister from southern Bladen County — made their first appearances in court this morning for the “heinous” robbery and murder of UNCW student and Army veteran Christopher Stewart, Sheriff Alan Cutler announced that his deputies were searching for a third suspect, Brandon Tyrell Chambers of Willard.
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Portraits of Wilmington residents wearing homemade cloth masks, ski masks, bandanas, N-95 respirators, and surgical masks. (Port City Daily photos)
WILMINGTON — Over the past few weeks, more and more shoppers have been wearing face masks at grocery stores, gas stations, and home improvement stores across Wilmington. Some cited the official recommendation from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to wear cloth face masks, freeing up the supply of surgical masks and N-95 respirators for health care workers on the front line of the Covid-19 pandemic.
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UNCW students party at Carolina Beach 30 minutes before the town announced a state of emergency and the closure of all beach accesses. On Saturday, the school announced that two of its students had tested positive for the novel coronavirus. (Port City Daily photo/Mark Darrough)
CAROLINA BEACH — A chain reaction of beach closures occurred along the Cape Fear coast on Friday as college students, families, and retirees alike flocked to Carolina Beach for their last few hours of sand and ocean air as the town council decided to follow suit.
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The past few days, Port City Daily has interviewed residents of Wilmington to better understand how the spread of the coronavirus is impacting their daily lives. Click here to see the full story. (Port City Daily photos/Mark Darrough)
WILMINGTON — As the city addresses a rising economic and health crisis caused by the spread of novel coronavirus cases across the U.S. and North Carolina, every aspect of daily life has been affected.
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Former mayor of New York City and Democratic presidential candidate Michael Bloomberg prepares to hit the stage during a rally at Laney High School this weekend. (Port City Daily photo/Mark Darrough)
WILMINGTON — A few hundred people squeezed into the courtyard of Laney High School to listen to former mayor of New York City, Michael Bloomberg, days before North Carolinians take to the polls on Super Tuesday to vote for their Democratic presidential candidate.
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The Alcove Beer Garden is the city’s newest craft beer bar and the latest addition to a business incubation project known as the ‘Outpost’ inside Wilmington’s growing Cargo District. (Port City Daily photo/Mark Darrough)
WILMINGTON — There’s a lot going on in an old metal Quonset hut at the corner of 16th and Queen Street, dubbed the ‘Outpost’ by its creators and home to the city’s newest craft beer bar, the Alcove Beer Garden.
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Mason Inlet Distillery owner Tom Curran dips a bottle of his Go Bananas brandy into hot wax to create a sealed top. (Port City Daily photo/Mark Darrough)
WILMINGTON — No distilleries operated in New Hanover County before this time last year. Now there are three. With plans to hit ABC shelves sometime in March, Mason Inlet Distillery joins Blue Shark Vodka and End of Days Distillery in Wilmington’s emerging craft liquor market.
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Food Network host Tyler Florence speaks to attendees of a GLOW Academy fundraiser before announcing the kickoff of the Food Truck Challenge. (Port City Daily photo/Mark Darrough)
WILMINGTON — Celebrity television chef Tyler Florence challenged six local food trucks to a cooking competition as part of a fundraiser for the Girls Leadership Academy of Wilmington (GLOW).
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In an old wood shop, the End of Days Distillery will soon open on Castle Street in the Westbrook-Ardmore historic district. (Port City Daily photo/Mark Darrough)
WILMINGTON — An old metal-arch building on the east end of Castle Street is getting ready to open as the city’s second distillery, half the space dedicated to the production of rum, vodka, gin — and soon whiskey — with the other half a cargo district-themed tasting room and lounge.
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One of two wing engines of the Ford Tri-Motor as it flies over Southport. The third is installed at the nose of the plane. (Port City Daily photo/Mark Darrough)
OAK ISLAND — The first all-metal commercial passenger plane is parked at the Cape Fear Regional Jetport this weekend offering flights for anyone who wants a ride on the former “Air Force One” of the Dominican Republic.
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Horror film character Michael Myers stands on the sidewalk of Pender Avenue during a scene shot in the Carolina Place neighborhood near Wallace Park last weekend. (Port City Daily photo/Mark Darrough)
WILMINGTON — Weeks ago residents of Carolina Place received notice that a 100-member production crew would be shooting a few scenes for a film entitled “MOB Rules” in the area.
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Coast Guard Machinery Technician Third Class David Patnaude on board a 45-foot response boat as it returned to the Wrightsville Beach station after the crew checked all navigation buoys on the Cape Fear River. Each was in their proper position, and the call was made to begin re-opening the Port of Wilmington. (Port City Daily/Mark Darrough)
As the Wilmington area awoke to minimal damages from Hurricane Dorian, one Coast Guard Crew took to the Cape Fear River to make sure all navigation buoys were in their proper positions before re-opening the Port of Wilmington.
Read MoreWILMINGTON — A mile south of downtown Wilmington there’s an on old dive bar where — even if the air conditioning isn’t working on a Tuesday night — musicians take the stage for an open blues jam.
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Mike Hicks, left, helps lift a grill onto his back porch in a flooded neighborhood on Alexis Hales Road near the Black River in Currie, North Carolina on Wednesday evening, September 19, 2018. (Port City Daily photo/Mark Darrough)
PENDER COUNTY — As the sun began to set Wednesday in the rural river town of Currie, North Carolina, a Charlotte Fire Department crew was staked out at the flood line on Borough Spur Road, near the Moores Creek confluence with the Black River.
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A Coast Guard cargo plane flies over Carolina Beach on Monday, September 17, 2018. Pictured is a flooded section of Atlanta Avenue and 4th Street just north of the Carolina Beach Lake. (Port City Daily photo | Mark Darrough)
CAROLINA BEACH — Carolina Beach residents lined up hundreds of cars deep before passing through a police barricade on the north end of Snow’s Cut bridge to return to their homes earlier this week.
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